Eerily haunting and sanity challenging, Moon creeps into the ranks as an immediate cult classic. Directed by newcomer, Duncan Jones, this strikingly original sci-fi independent plays more on its semi-noir atmosphere and themes of self-discovery than most futuristic counterparts.
In the film, "Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth's primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home. Taped messages are all Same can send and receive.
Thankfully, his time on the moon is nearly over, and Sam will be reunited with his wife, Tess, and their three-year old daughter, Eve, in only a few short weeks. Finally, he will leave the isolation of "Sarang," the moon base that has been his home for so long, and he will finally have someone to talk to beyond "Gerty," the base's well-intentioned but rather uncomplicated computer.
Suddenly, Sam's health starts to deteriorate. Painful headaches, hallucinations and a lack of focus lead to an almost fatal accident on a routine drive on the moon in a lunar rover. While recuperating back at the base (with no memory of how he got there), Sam meets a younger, angrier version of himself, who claims to be there to fulfill the same 3 year contract Sam started all those years ago."
-Sony Pictures Classic
Its marvelous use of setting creates a immense sense of isolation reinforced by the classical use of still frame backgrounds. And in the middle of this vast arena is a brilliant and gripping performance from Sam Rockwell. While accompanied only by the Kevin Spacey-voiced base computer, Rockwell takes audiences through a spectrum of mental states and emotional feelings reflective of his deteriorating grip on reality. Aided by the proper direction from Jones, Rockwell's performance stays within the necessary constraints to focus the attention inward, something that is rarely done properly in a science fiction flick.
By centering more on the character's weakening state, Jones is able to correctly explore a wide array of themes, ranging from memory and existence, to humanity and genetic manipulation, even corporate ethics.
Now theatrical dissection aside, the film, while somewhat predictable at times, is about so much more than a crazed astronaut alone on a moon base. Similar to Danny Boyle's Sunshine, the film uses a far-fetched setting and plot to address a variety of everyday questions and emotions in an entertaining manner. What makes this film so much more is the fact that it does not let the "entertaining manner" hijack the message of the film with spectacular visuals and a Michael Bay-sized budget for special effects. It in fact, very intelligently, down plays the visuals, creating a drab, ugly place that can only intensify the want to go home and our connection with Rockwell's convincing performance.
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